Come Along With Me
by theimpossiblekhaleesi
Summary: Peter Pan wasn't always this way, and Wendy is determined to bring Peter back to his old self. Henry might be the only person that can accomplish that feat. As the true believer, he's the only one with any hope in stopping the Shadow. Everyone thought the Shadow was Peter Pan's, but Wendy knows the truth. Peter Pan isn't the one to be afraid of in Neverland.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This is my first Once Upon A Time story, and to be honest, my first story on Fanfiction in a long time. I did not like the Wendy Darling they showed in Second Star to the Right, so I'm making a new one. Just pretend her name is something different from Wendy Darling. This starts off directly after where Nasty Habits ended. I do not own anything here except my version of Wendy and this idea for the story. I hope you enjoy! Also, as for the rating, it could very well go up. I decided to do K+ for now, but it may be T quickly in the future. And for the genre, that is the hardest part. Adventure is definitely one, but there will be others like romance, mystery, suspense, and angst.

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.: **Chapter One** :.

She could not remember how long she had waited for the boy with the heart of the truest believer to finally come to Neverland. Jumping deftly from one slick rock to the next, she made her way from the caves. She could do it all with her eyes closed jumping with muscle memory, but she wouldn't dare attempt that risk today for what she planned to do she could not be wet. Landing lightly on the sand, she dashed her way across the open expanse of the beach to jungle. Once she was under the canopy she pulled the brown hooded cloak that had been tied around her waist on. Pulling the hood over her head and making sure it was completely fastened to her so it would not shift and show the clothes she wore underneath, she began to make her way through the jungle. Despite seeing the face on the parchment Peter Pan kept so close to him once, the image was still burned into her mind flickering in and out of her thoughts throughout the numerous years. As much as Peter Pan wanted him, Wendy Darling wanted him even more.

There was no concrete proof that he could help her but Wendy had to try. She had run out of every other option that she could even think of and she was known to be clever. In all honesty, he was her last shot at a chance of hope. She had to do it, she needed to do it; if she never tried she would always regret it until her last breath passed her lips. Well, if that was even possible at that point, she wasn't entirely too sure. Neverland was the place that no one ever grew up. She had been stuck at this age for such a long time now that she practically considered herself to be immortal. She knew it was a rubbish thought and she definitely knew that she was not, in fact, immortal, but still after so many years it was a simple idea to think about.

If this plan did not work out, she wasn't sure what would happen. Would she help the boy escape Peter? Yes, of course, that was a given. If he couldn't be any use of her, she would make sure that he did not get his hands on the boy. She could do that much. What she would do afterwards was what Wendy worried about the most. Though the thought of moving on seemed so easy, not to mention rewarding, she could not bear to even think that she would ever go down that route. This was all her fault after all. She had to fix this or she would die trying. Death seemed as good as a punishment for this. She had thought about it all before when she hid in the Echo caves. However, death also seemed like a relief from this nightmare and she was almost sure he would not let her have that satisfaction. It would not, to be more correct. Could he watch her die again? That was an even bigger risk, one she was too afraid to take without trying every option. She was afraid for the answer not being the one she would have wanted.

Wendy had overheard the mermaids talking about the arrival of a ship full of adults and the audacity they had to take one of their own. Living on Neverland so long, Wendy knew that all mermaids were liars and their words were sketchy at best, but all the best lies had certain truths and she had been able to gauge when they were lying and when they were only exaggerating the truth after so long. She could only assume that the reason a group of adults came here stemmed from a boy being here. She had also heard that it was a pirate ship that brought them here, but the fact the mermaids brought up magic made her except that it wasn't the entire crew of the Jolly Rodger back in Neverland. It brought a bitter taste to her mouth when she thought of even the word of that stupid ship, but she had bigger concerns on her mind than a certain pirate. If anything she was more concerned that the talk was old and she had no idea how long the boy had been on the island. She was upset as well that her shadow had not reported anything other than the item it had snagged a few days ago, and that she didn't realize what it really meant sooner.

She skirted easily around the dreamshade thorns and found herself easily coming up on the Lost Boys' camp. As she stopped, peering through the foliage and seeing the blazing fire, there was a sharp pang in the bottom of her gut. The fact that he had kept the camp here hurt her more than she could say and often at times she found herself drawn back here, watching them in hidden silence when she felt truly alone. Moving silently, she climbed up a tree, hanging back as far as she could without compromising her vision on the camp. The first thing she always did once she found a spot to look from was that she always searched for Peter. His position was crucial in her vantage point for if he saw her, she had to disappear quickly. The Lost Boys were never a problem for Wendy. It was always Peter. Her stupid problem. He was across the clearing and so with an inaudible sigh, she moved back down the tree and kept going around the outskirts of the clearing.

Though try as she might, her fingers had a mind of their own and she found them tapping against her hip lightly to the beat of the drum that accompanied the Lost Boys' dancing around the fire. Oh how she would give up anything to be able to dance again, when her only concerns had been dancing out of beat and not falling into the fire while dancing. Her breath hitched in her throat when she heard the tune of the pipe, and the dancing increased into a happy fury. Holding her breath, she climbed the nearest tree again, satisfied with Peter being more off-center to her. It was easy to spot the boy amongst them all only because he was dressed differently than the others. Seeing the opportune moment for her, she got herself down from the tree and stepped in to the clearing, jumping into the dance with such a fluid motion than no one seemed to be the wiser. She knew how invigorating the dance was regardless of the amount of people in the circle around the fire. The fact that he had continued this was something that she still thought of this day. Perhaps, after all this time, he was still there. And suddenly, as she danced with them, she was taken back to where this had started.

* * *

_The fire had started off weak, but over a short amount of time it burned with an intensity that Wendy had not ever known possible. Collecting wood for it was a necessity, and Wendy was fearful that they would burn out of the wood quicker than they could gather it or even enjoy the fire. She had insisted on the fire, after all. It was dark, so very dark, even though the moonlight was considerably brighter than it was back home. He had said no in the beginning, but after awhile Peter consented and together they had worked on it. They did not go far apart from each other so they wouldn't get lost. Once the wood had been collected, which was hard in a jungle where one had to look out for dreamshade, the fire was made. _

_She had been the first to notice that the Shadow did not near the flames. As if any source of light frightened it, and a tiny part of her felt happy that the Shadow kept its distance. Even after many interactions with the Shadow, Wendy never felt like it was an extremely friendly presence. Yes, it had shown her Neverland on it's own accord, but it seemed to prefer Peter more than her, and she was not sure why. In an effort not to get jealous, she made herself stick close to the fire. Perhaps her wanting of a fire and hoping that it would not go out made the fire burn fiercely and over time it seemed that the wood burn more slowly than it would have normally. It would take her awhile to get use to the fact that Neverland ran on imagination and if she concentrated hard enough, things would happen. She wasn't sure if just her hoping for the fire made it the size it was and she hoped that Peter was silently hoping it would not go out as well. _

_He sat behind her away from the fire, his eyes fixated on the flames. Turning away from him, she continued to look at the flames, the warmth of the fire washing over her in the most delightful of ways. It should not have been, however, she knew that normally it should have been almost too hot at this proximity to the flames. Watching the flames dance, she found herself slowly swaying a bit before she felt a laugh escape her lips when she began to dance around the fire. Dancing might not have been the exact term for what she had suddenly decided to do, but it felt right. She was jumping and hopping and skipping, and turning in a circle as she moved around the fire, throwing her hands up. _

"_What are you doing?" She could tell by his tone he was bemused. _

"_You tell me." She supplied as she passed him once going around the fire again. _

"_Why are you jumping around the fire? I know you're not burned. You'd be crying." He answered, standing when Wendy rounded the fire again closer than he was sitting before. _

_With a hop, she landed in the spot directly front of him, breathing a little heavily. His eyes were aglow from the fire behind her, his eyebrow raised up in his curiosity, and the tiniest of smiles tugging on the corner of his lips. "I'm not sure why I am. It just… try it, Peter." She said and without waiting for his answer, she grabbed his hands, tugging him along as she began another round around the fire. His eyes widened but he moved along with her, and she stretched her arms around, moving to spin them around and Peter followed suit as she knew he would. Just like that, Peter was as entranced as she was with the dancing around the fire, eventually letting go of her hands and dancing next to her. They made loud animal cries and hooted and shouted for no apparent reason, Wendy giggling all the while and Peter grinning like mad. _

_They danced for quite some time until Wendy's legs felt like they could no longer hold her weight and she practically threw herself down unladylike on the ground, lying on her back breathless. A moment later there was a similar thud next to her and Peter was lying next to her, their shoulders touching him equally breathless as her. They laid there for a few moments in silence, listening to each other catch their breath. "Aren't you glad you came, Wendy?" He finally said. "We can do this all the time. It'll be me and you forever, Wendy. We'll never be alone."_

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Though she had always thought it would have been much more enjoyable dancing with a lot more people, she did not find any enjoyment dancing around the fire this time. The only time it would be was if her Peter was back. Her eyes dared to look over in his direction, where he was playing his pipe. That stupid pipe. She should have stomped on the thing when she had the chance, but she hadn't known back then. Keeping her head down and matching to the tune was simple and therefore none of the Lost Boys suspected her at all so it was easy when she slipped next to the boy in the strange clothes.

It looked like he was enjoying himself, a bit too much for Wendy, though she almost could not blame him. Peter was quite manipulative_, _even more so than normal, and he could play a lot of people like they were a fiddle. He must have somehow at least gotten the boy to listened to him, to feel like proper Lost Boy, to have him dance the way he was dancing. The only thing she could do was hope that she was not too late. Around and around the fire they went, her eyes close on the boy and Peter, the only two who mattered in this situation. Peter never let his eyes off of the boy for too long so her chance would come only in a slim window, exactly like she was used to. She waited until the boy's, Peter had shouted an encouraging word to him and called him Henry, cheeks turned red from exertion and he seemed a little breathless, his dancing slowing down considerably as the other Lost Boys closed in with their dancing unaware. As soon as Peter's eyes had moved from Henry, she grabbed Henry's arm tightly and pulled him off to the side and then pushed him out of the clearing entirely.

As soon as he landed in the dirt, she covered his mouth with one hand and yanked him up with another, pulling him along. He seemed a bit dazed at first, and breathless. He did not reach up to pull her hand off his mouth but instead reached out to grab her. She shoved him instead, wanting to get distance from the clearing before Peter looked for Henry. Her shove, however, broke the contact from his mouth and she saw that he was about to do something. Not being able to take the chance of him shouting for help or even the off-chance he'd ask what was happening, she reached out and slapped him. If anything would break the hold of the pipe, the hold of Peter's charm, the hold of even that stupid dancing with the Lost Boys, it would be that.

He looked rather shocked when she slapped him, his eyes widening and a soft "Ouch!" escaped his lips. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along hard, turning her head and yanking the hood down on her jacket. It took him a moment to draw out of the fact that he had been slapped to realize that she had done something. "You're a girl?" He asked incredulously, his voice louder than the word before but they were further away. A witty retort was about to make its way out of her mouth when the music behind them stopped playing. She could hear shouting and her heart lurched in her chest. She had hoped for at least a few more moments, but there was no use wishing now. She moved her hand down his arm and grabbed his hand tightly.

"I know you don't have any reason to trust me, but please, run!" She told him quickly, darting forward. She hoped he would not be still, and he proved her hope right. He ran with her.

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Any constructive criticism is welcome, and reviews are great.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you for everyone who reviewed, favorited, alerted, even looked at this story. It really means a lot to me. I'm hoping to keep up this quick updating! I'm really excited for this story, and it seems to be practically writing itself!

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.: **Chapter Two** :.

The only thing Wendy was certainly paying attention to as she pulled Henry along as they ran was the bushes that held the dreamshade thorns. Leaves and branches slapped at her uncovered face sometimes ensnaring the ends of the brown cloak she had pilfered from one of the Lost Boys. She continued to run regardless of the fabric being caught and there were several moments when she heard the fabric rip. None of that matter now, the only thing important was to get Henry away from the Lost Boys and more importantly, away from Peter. She did not run in a straight line either, instead zigging and zagging her way through the jungle, yanking Henry along hard whenever she decided to change course. She could hear the labor of his breathing not too long after they had started running. She knew that it would have been smart to wait until Henry had captured his breath after dancing, but there was no guarantee that another opportunity to snatch him away would have surfaced.

"Can you climb?" She asked him as she pulled him to the left suddenly, seeing the root sticking up and easily stepping on it and over it. Henry was not as lucky and he almost fell if it hadn't been for Wendy yanking him the opposite way and over the root. Her blood was pounding in her head and Wendy felt almost giddy with her adrenaline pumping through her veins.

"Yeah." He replied once he had managed to get his balance back.

"Come on then! Up that tree." She stopped so suddenly that he ran into her. Wendy turned him by his shoulders to face the tree and leaned down, cupping her hands to boost him up. Her cupping her hands did not help him much since he was a bit too heavy for her to properly boost up at all. "Hurry!" He moved all too slow for Wendy's liking though in retrospect she would know that he was moving as fast as he could. "No! Not that one! Are you stupid?" She hissed up at him, pointing upwards. "Higher, higher!" With that, she removed her gaze on the boy and glanced around the dark jungle, hearing the sounds of a search afoot somewhere behind them. She looked down at her shadow and nodded slightly.

The shadow sprang up from the ground, hovering beside her for a moment before it flew off in the direction of the noise. Her shadow could distract most of the attention from them by staying in the general area that they were and forcing the Lost Boys to believe that where the shadow was lingering was a trick. She had used a trick like that one before except her shadow lead them away from her. However, after several successful times of using it, the Lost Boys had learned to ignore the distraction. Watching it vanish in the foliage, Wendy jumped and grabbed the tree, climbing with deft hands up the tree reaching Henry quickly. She pointed at the branch she wanted him to go and he obeyed, edging out on to the branch.

It was clear that he did not look like he enjoyed being out on the branch, his legs wrapped around the branch and his knuckles white as he held on to it. Again, she would have laughed if the mood had been appropriate for it. She had been quite afraid of climbing trees too long ago. Sheltering herself high up in the trees had become such a useful tool of survival in Neverland she had to get use to it. Another thing she owed to Peter, showing her how to climb a tree. She sat down beside the boy, her legs dangling over as she placed a hand on the trunk to look about. "Why are—" Henry began, but she quickly put her hand over his mouth. When he made eye contact with her, she moved her hand carefully from his mouth, holding a finger over her own lips and then glancing down. Now was not the time to have a chat.

Several minutes ticked by slowly before two Lost Boys appeared in the area, searching and calling out Henry's name. There were also talking but Wendy couldn't make out what they were saying, but whatever it was they thought it was funny. Thankfully neither of the boys were Felix, who was a lot smarter than most of the Lost Boys put together. He had always proven to be difficult when he chased her for he too looked up in the trees. These boys did not and within a few short minutes they were on their way again, swiping at the leaves and branches so they wouldn't hit their faces. She waited for a few more minutes to make sure they didn't double back before she turned to face Henry again.

He had considerably relaxed, his knuckles back to the normal color, and he was breathing normally again. She could read the curiosity in his blue eyes, and before he could even get a word out, she reached out and put a finger on his lips. "We don't have time for your questions now. I need to get you as far away as I can from Peter. I can take you to a safe place, the echo caves." She told him quietly, but she was suddenly surprised when he seemed to recoil from her after that.

"You're a trick, aren't you? Peter tried to take me to the caves before when he was pretending to be an ally." He said, the doubt in his voice apparent but not strong enough to make him stop talking. That sounded exactly like something he'd do.

"Do I look like Peter to you? Or a Lost Boy for that matter?" She asked him, scowling a little and slowly moving to stand on the branch, it moving a little under her weight. "You insult Peter if you think he'd play the same tricks. Now, you can come with me, and be safe. Or, I can leave you by yourself, and we both know that the Lost Boys will take you again." That was a bit of lie on her part. She wouldn't leave him by himself. She'd knock him out and attempt to drag him to the echo caves if he wouldn't willingly go with her. That plan, however, did not seem to have a high percent rate of accomplishment.

"I'll—I'll come." He consented, looking back down the tree before looking over at her. "What are you doing?"

"You ask too many stupid questions." She pointed to her eyes, and then looked at the nearest branch below them and jumped for it. Landing she immediately pivoted to her feet to the left, jumping and somersaulting before landing on the ground with a light thud. She straightened herself back up and looked up at the tree, the tiniest smile playing on her lips as she saw the amazed look on his face. "Come on then." She called up to him being careful to keep her voice not too loud.

"I can't do that!" He called back down to her as he shook his head. "I'll just climb down."

Swallowing down a groan, Wendy placed her hands on her hips choosing to glare at him instead. "That'll take too long. You can jump down. This is Neverland. You can do things you've never thought possible. All you have to do is believe." She pointed to the branch that she had landed on before. "Believe that when you jump, you will land on that branch and you'll somersault off and land on your feet on the ground. It's easy!" Despite her words, he did not look assured that she was saying the truth. In the bottom of her stomach, she was getting that feeling that something was watching her. She always had it when she stopped for too long. "If you don't jump now, I'll…" She stuck her foot. "I'll throw my shoes at you. I have great aim."

"Okay!" He slowly began to get back up on his feet, his hand gripping the trunk of the tree tightly as he moved. He was quite shaky and for a moment, Wendy thought he might fall backwards off the tree which would have been terrible, but he managed to regain his balance. She held her thumb up at an attempt of encouragement because she didn't trust herself not to tell him to hurry up. And then, he jumped. There was always a part in any jump that Wendy did that made her heart lurch but she had never experienced one when she did not do the jumping until now. Her fists clenched and she profusely believed that he would land on the branch.

Henry landed on the branch and before Wendy could tell him to keep going, his knees buckled before and he tumbled out of the branch and fell. It was not a fall far, but she couldn't help wincing when he landed on the ground, the air rushing out of his lungs with an audible gasp. "You lost your concentration, but— you did good for your first time." She managed to say, the words feeling strange in her mouth. She grabbed his hand and helped him up, wrapping an arm around him before she started their walking again. She tried to keep the pace quick, but they moved slower than she would have wanted. However, the rest of their walk went smoothly and they were at the beach in no time.

The fact that there was no Lost Boys at the beach, not even one to just be sure, surprised Wendy and made her realize that perhaps Peter did not expect her yet. She never shared any interest in the true believer when she heard it mentioned in her presence and Peter had been watching so very closely. Having so many visitors on the island to play with, Peter must have assumed she'd just be tucked away in her caves like she usually did. She couldn't wait to see his face when he realized that she was the one who snatched Henry away. "We're almost there now. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away." She told him, pointing to rocks along the shore that curved around the island. It was just more than a three jumps, Wendy counted twenty-and-two, but Henry seemed to be in need of more encouragement. Whatever world he had come from he was not used to this kind of living. He seemed to be a little puzzled when they stopped, but Wendy leapt quickly to the first rock. "Follow me."

Despite Wendy's feeling that Henry was going to fall into the water, he proved her wrong, making it all the way across the twenty-and-two rocks before jumping into the mouth of the cave. In the beginning the cave had always been a little spooky, but once everything had changed, she spent most of her time within the echo caves safe from the Shadow, Peter, and the Lost Boys. It was always nice and cool within the caves which was always a relief from the warmth that the beach provided. Within the mouth there were tunnels, some leading off to different parts of the island and some that Wendy believed never ended, circling the island around and around. There were open caverns as well that spawned off several more tunnels as well, but the best thing Wendy liked about the echo caves were the giant underground pools the caves had. There were so many and despite how far Wendy explored in the caves, there was always light coming from the pools, causing refractions and giving most of the tunnels and caverns an underwater feel.

How the caves got their name, however, was the fact of the echoes. Wendy had been in places that had echoed before, but these caves were something completely different. Not only did the cave echo, but it held on to the echoes from the past. Things would be silent and then when a loud noise happened, an echo from the past would come forth. Sometimes they were complete sentences, other times they were sniffling or a cough, and sometimes they were just words. Sometimes they made sense, other times it almost felt like an entirely different language. Depending on the noise level, the echo would either be loud or soft like a whisper. And very rarely, the echo caves seemed to whisper on it's own accord. The echoes never came from the same place nor were they ever the same thing. Someone could shout hello, and the next thing heard could be a scream. And the frightening thing about the echo caves were that not all the sounds had been made into the cave. It was as if the wind had picked up the voices and carried it to the cave for safe-keeping. That came into handy at times when she could eavesdrop in a sense on Peter and his Lost Boys.

While it gave the vague sense of becoming crazy, Wendy had found it a safe place to call home. It also gave her something more valuable to her than safety. A way to listen to times gone by.

* * *

_They didn't find the beach for quite a while, and when they did Neverland felt like an entirely new place. She had taken off her shoes to feel the warm sand beneath her feet, but that ultimately turned into a bad decision when Wendy realized how hot the sand was. She hopped all the way to the water with Peter laughing behind her. "It's not funny!" She said, scowling before she decided to push Peter causing him to stumble and fall into the water. It was her turn to laugh then but only for a moment. He scrambled up and swung her around, letting her go to fall back into the water as well. Within an instant, it turned into a screaming, splashing water fight between the two._

_After they had become breathless, Wendy wandered off back towards the shore, picking up things she found lying around. Seashells, a sand dollar, some little crabs that she didn't mess with, and even a starfish which she helped back into the water. She was just about to start to head back into the water when she heard Peter shout for her to come. She hurried over and saw him standing on one of the rocks in the water, grinning like mad. "Wendy, you have to come see this!" He said, his blue eyes shining with excitement. He turned from her and jumped to the next rock._

_"Peter, isn't there another way?" She asked, looking over worriedly at the rocks. The water was churning where Peter was jumping, occasionally spraying over the dark jagged rocks that looked way too slick for comfort._

_"Don't be such a girl, Wendy."_

_"What's wrong with being a girl? I just don't want to fall, that's all." Despite her hesitancy, she jumped to the first rock which looked to be the easiest one._

_"You won't fall, Wendy. I believe in you. If I can do it, you can too." Peter told her, looking over his shoulder to give her a reassuring smile. Wendy nodded at him and followed his lead, trying to aim in the same spot Peter landed on the rock. There were several times she thought she was going to lose her balance and fall off the rock. Her heart lurched in her chest as she waved her arms wildly, but inside her mind she wished she wouldn't fall and in the end she always regained her balance. Her legs were wobbly by the time she almost reached the cave, one rock away from the mouth. "Come on, you can do it. One last jump! To me now." He encouraged._

_With a shaky breath, Wendy leapt forward and made it to the edge of the mouth, her foot slipping backwards on the edge and she began to fall back. Peter's hands were quick and strong as he grabbed her arms, pulling her back towards him. Her hands wrapped around his body and she clung to him, choking back a sob. He let go of her arms, and she felt one of his arms wrap around her and the other one pet her hair. "I got you, Wendy. You did it. You made it all the way here," He told her soothingly as he could, "please don't cry."_

_"I'm not going to cry." Wendy mumbled, finally pulling back and furiously rubbing her eyes with her wrist. She sniffed and looked at him as if daring him to tell her that she was about to cry. "What's so important?"_

_Peter grinned and moved his hand, gesturing to the cave before extending his arm. "Come along." He said. With that, Wendy wrapped her own arm around his and together they walked into one of the tunnels. Wendy gasped when she saw the underwater pool and the movement of the light playing on the wall. She opened her mouth to say something, but Peter held his finger to her lips. He only mouthed, "Watch this!", before he howled loudly. She jumped a little at his howl, frowning a bit when she heard the echo of his howl once. Suddenly, the next echo was something different. It was a voice, the words a bit muddled and Wendy could hardly make out all the words except for "Neverland". The next echo was something different, quieter than then the first two and increasingly difficult to hear._

_"That's amazing!" She said, her voice bouncing off the walls once and then suddenly, the cave came alive with the sound of the jungle. Peter only nodded, smiling around. They spent a bit of their time just trying to hear all the echoes. None of it seemed to be linear, occasionally they heard themselves which was quite exciting. There were only some echoes that weren't as pleasing though Wendy did not know who they had come from. As far as she knew, Peter and her were the only ones on Neverland save for the Shadow that brought them there._

* * *

It was only the mouth that never seemed to echo, and it was the best place for conversation. "You're safe now." She finally said once they made it both into the cave, sitting down on the ground and ridding herself of the brown cloak. "Peter doesn't come to the echo caves. He won't hunt you down here." No, he'd just wait until she brought him back out into the dark jungle.

Henry sat down next to her, glancing around curiously before looking back at her. "You're—you're Wendy, right? Wendy Darling?"

The question was much like what slamming into the ground from a tree for Wendy. She sat straight up, her eyes wide, the hair on the back of her neck prickling. "How do you know my name? Did—did Peter tell you about me?" She asked, her voice growing softer near the end. As far as she knew, Peter didn't bring her up at all unless he actually had to personally deal with her or send his Lost Boys after her. If just the briefest amount of contact with Henry had gotten Peter to talk about her… had she made a mistake taking him from him? With sudden urgency, Wendy scrambled up, grabbing the collar of his shirt. "Tell me how you know my name!" She demanded, her voice rising above the normal she ever kept it. The cave, however, heard her shout and replied once with her echo. And then, all the hairs on Wendy's arms stood up as a blood-curling scream wailed from within as the Echo Caves replied.

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There will definitely be more action in the next episode, not to mention maybe a familiar face or two! ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I'm going ahead and bumping the story to T just to be safe! Happy Halloween!

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.: **Chapter Three** :.

Henry tried to get away from her, but Wendy pushed him against the wall of the cave, watching him look over her shoulder towards the tunnels where the scream had resonated. There was a moment of silence after the scream, and then there was fainter words that Wendy couldn't make out. "Wh—what was that?" He asked, his hands on her hands that was still keeping him against the wall.

"My question first." She slowly released her grip on Henry, taking a few small steps backwards.

Henry moved away from the wall still looking over at the tunnels before finally putting his gaze back on her. "Where I'm from, no one really believes that Neverland is an actual place. You're just a story, and a movie, and magic isn't real." He explained, shifting uncomfortably. She could tell that he had thought differently, clearly from the fact that he was here now with her, but his words had startled her especially the part about magic.

Just from that explanation, she wanted to ask more questions. How did they know her name? What's a movie? Where exactly was he from? It couldn't have been where she and Peter lived surely. However, despite all her questions, she knew that getting Henry here had taken longer than it should have and she didn't have time to leisurely question him about his homeland. Peter might eventually come looking for Henry and her and she needed to have much more done by the time that happened. "Okay," She said slowly, the confusion clear in her voice, "it's an echo. My echo from a long time ago. It's called echo caves for a reason, Henry. It gathers up echoes and shouts them back at you when you make enough noise." He didn't need to know everything.

"That was you screaming?" She nodded quietly and she could see that he wanted to know more, but he didn't press for information. "Oh! Thank you for saving me." His eyes grew a little wide as if he couldn't believe he forgot to thank her. "Glad to know that you're still good. I need to get home. My family is probably trying to find a way to get to me, and—"

"Your family is here on the island already searching for you."

"They're already here?! Oh man, this is great! We can get off this island! You can come too, Wendy!" He said, his voice loud enough in his excitement that the tunnels responded in frantic whispering of a long ago conversation between two Lost Boys. "We need to go find them! Let's get out of here."

Wendy watched him for a moment, wondering if she'd ever be like that again. The childlike excitement had disappeared when her Peter disappeared. Nothing excited her to that point again after the change. It had all been about living another day and being safe. "No." It came out harsher than Wendy meant it, and Henry's eyes locked on her in surprise. "We aren't going to find them. I am." She added quickly before Henry could say or do anything rash. "You're staying here."

"I'm not staying here!" He objected immediately.

"Yes, you are. You're the one Peter wants, Henry. Peter knows your family is here too; he knows everyone who comes on to this island. He knows you want to be reunited with your family, so if you come with me to collect them…" She trailed off, gesturing for him to think.

"He'll take me back. Or, make me by hurting someone I love." He answered quietly, the excitement in his voice no longer there. Wendy nodded, giving him her best sympathy look. She had never had to really use it before so she hoped it worked. "You'll bring them here?"

"Yes. You'll be reunited with them before you know it, but you have to stay here. I mean it, right in the mouth Henry. If you go exploring down the tunnels, I may not be able to find you. You could get lost or get incredibly lucky."

"And what if you don't come back? What if you get taken? And how do I know I can trust you?" All three questions he asked were valid ones that even Wendy had to admit perhaps he wasn't as stupid as she initially thought.

However, a small smile spread across her face, a real one and she couldn't remember the last time she had genuinely smiled. "What's Peter's lackeys called?"

"…The Lost Boys?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"And what gender is occupying this island?"

"Boys."

"And what am I?"

"A girl."

"That's how you can trust me. Believe in me, Henry. I can't offer you any proof, but I think you already do trust me. And, I won't get caught. Peter Pan loves his games, and he'll want to see my move." She answered him. She knew that he wouldn't torture her for the answer. That wasn't exactly his style. "I'm the girl who's going to save us all."

* * *

Wendy did want to reunite the boy with his family, but there was much more Wendy wanted than just that. There was, however, a time and a place for things to come into the light and as of now, it wasn't that time yet. The more people on this plan the better it would be, or so she hoped. There was no trial run she could do to see if it worked or not. She simply had to believe. Leaving Henry was easier than she thought, and after getting Henry settled with some food and the cloak wrapped around him for warmth more than protection, she had left. Just in case, the Lost Boys did not go inside the Echo Caves for the same reason she assumed Peter did not go in, and that meant if Henry kept the hood up, they'd mistake him if they looked into the mouth for her.

She also did not want Henry coming along with her for what she planned to do now. Finding his family was important, but they were not the first thing she was going to do. The first thing she had to deal with was the item her shadow had snagged. She did not go a specific direction, but instead followed the path her feet led her walking where she believed she should head. The magic in Neverland was incredibly strong and Wendy and Peter had learned a long time ago how to use it to their advantage when they wanted or needed things. It was a different kind of magic though. Imagination and belief could be used as dangerously as any magic. Magic came with a price, Wendy knew, but in Neverland imagination did not, or at least it did not here. It did not take long to get here where she wanted to go. She didn't run into any Lost Boys either which meant that Peter was either binding his time or he was looking at Henry's family closely.

She stopped right before she came up on him, crouching in the bushes quietly, watching him have a conversation with what appeared to be nobody. She was on the verge of affirming her suspicious that he might be crazy when she suddenly felt her body stiffen and be pulled upwards. "Pan, you've gotten sloppy. Snooping on me now?" The man asked, turning with his fingers poised as her feet left the ground and she was moved magically forwards towards him.

It was understandable to mistake her for Peter when they looked at the clothes. When Peter and her went together to Neverland, she had slipped herself in some of Peter's younger clothes, knowing that dresses would not do for Neverland. Looking down at the man, she almost did not recognize him. He was so much older than her, and she wondered if she had never gone to Neverland, what she would have looked like at his age. He still had smudges of the black on his face, but she knew deep down this was the same person she knew when she still lived back at home. She could also see the realization flicker across his face for a moment as he recognized her. "It's been a long time, Rumplestiltskin."

"Did Pan send you to spy on me? To be honest, I actually forgot about you." He said, eyeing her suspiciously, lowering her slightly so she was being held in front of him face to face.

"Peter didn't send me. I came looking for you." She explained, clenching her hands before forcing them into an upper arc, breaking the spell and landing nimbly on her feet in front of him. His eyebrows rose in surprise, but she continued interrupting him. "There is no Lost Girl on Neverland, Rumplestiltskin. I want to stop Peter just as much as you do."

"I doubt that. If I remember correctly, and I do, you and Peter were the best of friends and heading off to Neverland together. Neverland not as wonderful for you two as you initially thought?" He asked, smirking before he eyed her warily. He had tried to ask her how she had managed to break that spell, but he hadn't tried to ask it again.

"Something like that." There was nothing more that Wendy wanted than to wipe that smile off of his face. "I came to you for help." She continued.

He laughed at that. "You think you can ask for my help because we were friends once? We're not friends anymore. I'm here to save my grandson, and him only. I'll kill Pan if I have to, and I'll kill you too if you get in my way." The way he said if he had to sounded more like he wanted to. There was something that happened between the two of them, something after Peter had changed she guessed, but that wasn't important.

Wendy crossed her arms over her chest. "I wasn't asking." She told him, raising her head defiantly at him. She had no doubts that Rumplestiltskin would hesitate to kill her. He had been a different boy back when they were friends, and now he had become something else. She had heard the conversations between Peter and his Lost Boys. "You will help me. I can be very persuasive."

He smirked at her. "You've grown more annoying here in Neverland, but please, persuade me."

"You need me. If anyone can outwit Peter, it's me. I know Neverland better than anyone else, including that stupid pirate captain you brought along. Peter is already your enemy, you don't need to be putting another one on the list. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." She began, circling him.

"Is that your persuasive attempt?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her, keeping her in his sight.

"I wasn't finished, and for the record, no. Since you're so impatient, I'll just cut straight to the really persuasive part." She said, giving him a smirk of her own. "You're smart, but my shadow is much quicker." With that, she sat down on one of the rocks around them, crossing her legs and waited for the inevitable. Her eyes were trained on his face and it took only moments for his eyes to cloud with uncertainty and slight confusion.

"I have no idea what—" He began, his tone careful and controlled.

"Yes, you do." She stood up quickly, covering the distance between them and standing in front of him. Her hand slid into her vest and pulled something out that glinted in the moonlight, holding the sharp end to the bottom of his neck. "Nice try with that dagger, Dark One." His eyes caught hers and she leaned a little closer. "You see, I was right. You will help me. And if you think you can trick or defy me, I will kill you without hesitation."

There was a long silence between the two of them, and Wendy took that to take a few steps back, holding the dagger up in the air. Her shadow jumped from it's place and grabbed the dagger, beating a swift retreat and going to hide it in a place only Wendy knew. She could see him trying to figure a way out of this and coming up with no solution. "It seems," he finally began, his voice sounding different from before, "that Neverland hasn't only turned Peter into a villain. Who knew you had it in you, Wendy?" He couldn't do anything and so he had to rely on his words, and that stung too close to Wendy. Her eyes burned with unshed tears and she cried out, lashing forward and pushing Rumplestiltskin as hard as she could. Her fury only heightened her power, making her push him far more harder than she would ever physically be able to push. He flew backwards, falling hard on the ground on his back.

"I am not a villain. I'm only doing what I have to. I have to do this." She couldn't help but say, standing over him. The sound of her own voice made her cringe and she tried to calm herself down, taking deep breaths. "If you do what I say, I'll give you back your dagger. From what I've heard, I shouldn't give it back, but I will. You have my word."

"Tell me what you want me to do." He said icily. She knew he didn't care to hear and she was sure in his mind, as soon as she would give him back his dagger, he'd probably try to kill her. It wasn't impossible to kill her in Neverland, but she was hoping that when everything worked out, and she refused to think it wouldn't, he wouldn't want to kill her when she gave it back.

"Protect Peter Pan. Save him from harm and death," At her words, she could see the fury build beneath his eyes. "Until Peter has returned to me." She finished, knowing that it completely went against what he had come here to do. She needed this though to make sure no one tried to kill Peter behind her back before she exhausted every attempt to bring Peter back to her. With that, she turned and walked away from him before he could say another jape.

It was with a heavy heart that Wendy did this. She had never imagined she'd become the person she was today with a plan like this, but then again she had never imagined what had happened would happen to them. This time she was just walking to get some distance between Rumplestiltskin and herself. Henry's family was next on the list, but his cruel words at struck her hard. After what had happened, she had spent long nights wondering what could have been if Peter and her had never gone to Neverland. Would he had worked with his father or run off and find the life that he wanted. Would he had taken her along? Would this had happened if Rumplestiltskin came along with them? She could spend night after night wondering about it all, but she had soon learned that it did no good thinking about the what-would-haves.

* * *

_"Don't be such a girl, Rumplestiltskin." Peter said exasperated, digging the toe of his boot into the dirt. "Wendy said it's a magical place, and the Shadow there wants boys. Go on, tell him," He continued, nudging Wendy's arm with his elbow._

_"He said I couldn't stay because I was a girl, but I told him that tonight I'd bring friends. I don't want to be a liar! You'll love it there, I know you will." She said, nodding her head vigorously. "There's magic, Rumplestiltskin. I flew."_

_Rumplestiltskin looked at the both of them, hair covering his eyes, leaning against the building. "I don't know. It sounds like a great place, but— I don't know if I want to stay there."_

_Wendy glanced over at Peter, who straightened up a little, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Why not? It's better than this place. We're going to be stuck here for the rest of our lives. We'll be miserable then as we are now. Wendy said the Shadow is only coming back once. This is our only shot." He took a step towards Rumplestiltskin, placing a hand on his shoulder. "No one is going to miss any of us. Wendy's parents are too busy with the other kids to pay any attention to her. I'm surely not going to be missed. If you go to Neverland with us, you won't have to live with your father's brand hanging over your head."_

_She closed her eyes a little when Peter mentioned his father. She knew how much that Rumplestiltskin's father had been branded a coward bothered him. "You're one of my best friends, please, come with us." Peter continued, his voice dipping into pleading territory. She was surprised. Peter didn't plead for anything._

_"Can I just think about it?" He asked uncomfortably, looking up at them._

_"Of course." She answered in unison when Peter said, "What's there to think about?"_

_The different replies caused both Peter and Wendy to look back at each other. "It is kind of scary to think about leaving, Peter. But it's exciting too, and if he needs some time to realize that, let's give it to him. Goading him isn't going to help him choose any easier." She gave a small smile his way before looking back over at Peter._

_She knew that the idea that his other best friend wasn't going to come hadn't occurred to Peter when he heard her story in the morning and came up with the idea for them all to go and stay in Neverland. She wasn't sure why he seemed to be indifferent to the idea of Neverland though he had acted strange since he began to grow more popular around the village girls. He was often seen doing things for one of the girls, Milah, and had hung around with others. She had a small fear that perhaps their friendship was over, but Peter quenched the idea when she brought it up. All the boys she knew were beginning to act stranger than they usually were when she thought about it for a long period. All the boys except Peter. Her mother said he seemed to have taken a shine to her, whatever that meant._

_"Of course it's exciting. What did the Shadow say? We'll never grow up? And that Neverland is full of magic? Sounds like the perfect place. Come on, Wendy, let's leave Rumple to his thoughts." He said, grabbing for her hand bringing Wendy out of her thoughts. "We need to gather a few things before we go." With that, he pulled her along, but she pulled her hand out of his and hurried back over to Rumplestiltskin before they went too far. He looked up at her when she approached him._

_"Whatever you decide, we'll still be friends. No going to a different land is going to change that. Peter's just going to miss you, that's all." She said, keeping her voice soft. "You never know, you might change your mind later and maybe the Shadow will come pick you up too. Or, we can hopefully visit you." She didn't want him to think that he had to join them. With a soft smile, she turned to look at Peter, who was watching them curiously from afar. She ran back over to him grabbing his hand before letting him lead her._

_"What did you say to him?"_

_"Something hopefully to help make up his mind."_

* * *

She continued walking through the jungle, trying to gather her thoughts and concentrate wholly on finding Henry's family. She had just changed course in her direction, stepping over several exposed roots when she felt a presence behind her. She barely had a chance to whirl around when she was shoved backwards into the tree, her head knocking loudly against the trunk and causing her to bite down on her tongue. Her mouth filled with blood and she spat it out, trying to stop the swimming in her head. She wiped her lips and closed her eyes, fighting off an urge to moan in pain. She didn't need to look to know who it was, and she knew that despite the shove she was in no immediate danger. There were few times where it ever got physical between them and that was only when he was extremely angry. She took her time to stop the dizziness that the hit to her head created, but even the small break did not manage to lessen her heartbeat. Her heart always quickened when he came around.

She opened her eyes and was met with that stupid smirk Peter was always wearing. The change had not taken that from him and she wasn't sure if that made it worse. It was as if he had a secret joke and he thought everything was hilarious. He was at her level, crouching in front of her, watching her carefully as always. "It's always you, isn't it, Wendy?"


End file.
